Newborn babies sleep for around 16-20 hours throughout a 24-hour period. Unfortunately for parents, this is spread out and taken in short segments throughout the day and night. Newborn babies also have no knowledge or understanding about the difference between day and night. This is learned.

What is normal?

To expect the unexpected is normal. Newborn babies haven't yet learned to regulate their bodily functions. Take heart in the knowledge that by 4-months of age (or probably well before this) your baby will establish sleeping and feeding routines. Newborn babies also have teeny tiny tummies that digest milk quite quickly; therefore, they need to be fed often in the first months of life. So it makes sense that the first few weeks and possibly months are a time of settling in and establishing feeding and sleeping patterns that are normal for your newborn. Newborn babies will differ from each other. So when listening to advice or about what another newborn does - remember that all babies are different. Your newborn has arrived into this world as an individual and will have her own sleeping and eating needs. You will tune into these as she begins to sort out life in the world outside the womb. Don't expect too much for the first few months - just be patient.

What is sleeping through?

Take a deep breath - okay, now you can read this. A five-hour stretch is considered sleeping through. What! No eight-hour stretch! This stretch often doesn't emerge until a couple of months down the road.Or if you were me...three months down the road. Remember, milk is the only source of food for your baby, and this is digested rather quickly. Also, sleep can be disturbed by a growth spurt that often occurs around 6 weeks of age. During this time, your newborn may start waking again more frequently. She needs  the extra food to support this growth spurt.

How to help a newborn learn the difference between day and night

This is a good lesson for a newborn to learn. It can go a long way to helping your newborn to develop good sleeping routines later in her childhood. For daytime naps, keep the noise level normal. No tiptoeing around and whispering if the baby is asleep. You want your baby to tune into the fact that daytime is a noisy and busy time.
To teach your baby about nighttime, do exactly the opposite. Keep the lights off and use a night light for feeding and changing. I even avoided using the changing table and just changed my baby's diaper in the crib. (I put a cloth down on the mattress to avoid any mess.) This way diapers were changed with as little disturbance as possible. Avoid stimulating activities at night. Keep the noise level as low as possible and the room as dark as possible. This way your baby will eventually learn the difference between the two. It also helps to establish a bedtime routine from the very beginning. I wouldn't say it helped my newborn sleep longer, but it definitely established the foundation for a good solid bedtime routine. And one we all still follow today. It's simple - just before bed give your newborn a lovely warm bath. Pop on her sleeping clothes and a fresh diaper. Offer a feed, if necessary, but try not to let your newborn fall asleep at the breast or bottle. Then off to bed. You can then sing a few songs. Find the routine that suits you and your family and stick with it like superglue!

Sleep cues

It's also a great idea to pay attention to the signs your newborn is sending you. Some sleepy cues for newborns are rubbing their eyes, becoming irritable, yawning , and starting  to look away from your face. Watch and learn your newborn baby's cues that she is sleepy. As soon as you see these signs, get your baby ready for a nap (feed, diaper change, etc.) and pop her into the crib. Newborn babies need their sleep; and if they don't get enough, they can become irritable and quite unhappy. (Kind of like us grown up people!)

Falling asleep at the breast or bottle

This is just so comfortable and easy to do. The best compromise here is to sometimes do this, but not always. If your newborn learns that to fall asleep all the time at the breast or bottle, you may be in for a tricky time later. So if it happens occasionally, don't worry about it.  If you like it, then go ahead. Just remember, we are all creatures of habit, whether we're 6-weeks old or 40-years old.

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